Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections began at 7:00 am on Friday across 88 Parliamentary Constituencies spread over 12 States and Union Territories. Over 15.88 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes at 1.67 lakh polling stations. 89 general observers, 53 police Observers, and 109 expenditure observers have been deployed in the regions. IMD has forecast normal weather for phase two. The polling time has been extended till 6 PM in many polling stations in Banka, Madhepura, Khagaria, and Munger constituencies in Bihar to facilitate voters in hot weather conditions. For the convenience of voters, meticulous arrangements have been made by the Election Commission at all polling stations, including facilities to deal with hot weather conditions.
It may be recalled that polling for 29-Betul PC in Madhya Pradesh was rescheduled in the third phase due to the death of a candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party. The polling for 102 seats in phase one was completed on April 19. Rajiv Kumar has said that adequate arrangements have been made for smooth polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls and urged voters to participate in the festival of democracy in maximum numbers. Over 16 lakh Polling officials will welcome over 15.88 crore voters across 1.67 lakh polling stations in the second phase. 34.8 lakh first-time voters are registered to cast their votes. Additionally, there are 3.28 crore young voters in the age group 20-29 years. 1202 candidates (Males – 1098; Females-102; third gender – 02) are in the fray. Three Helicopters, four Special trains, and nearly 80,000 vehicles have been deployed to ferry polling and security personnel. Webcasting will be done in more than 50 percent of the polling stations along with the deployment of micro-observers in all polling stations. Webcasting is being done in over 1 lakh polling stations. A total of 4553 Flying Squads, 5731 , 1462 Video Surveillance Teams, and 844 Video Viewing Teams are keeping surveillance round the clock to strictly and swiftly deal with any form of inducement of voters. Around 4195 Model polling stations are set up across the 88 PCs with local themes. More than 4100 Polling stations are being completely managed by women, including security staff, and at over 640 Polling stations by Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). Polling stations in all States/UTs except Bihar and Kerala have less than 1000 average electors per polling station. Bihar has 1008, and in Kerala, it is 1102 electors per polling station.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing ousting him from power. The 2024 elections are taking place at a time when opposition leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have been arrested on charges of corruption in the liquor policy case.
